"The greatest manoeuvre you can ever do with a halberd, I learned from an old Tilean veteran. Watch carefully. Take the dough, add the sauce, some sliced sausage, a bit of cheese, then place the blade of your weapon in the fire, like so, for a few minutes until the crust is golden brown."
- —Holger Kass, 1st Bögenhafen Halberdiers[2a]
A company of Imperial Halberdiers holding the line against the Empire's foes.
An Empire Halberdier is an Imperial infantryman who wields a polearm known as a halberd in battle. Halberdiers are among the most common basic line infantry units fielded by the Empire, having proven effective against cavalry and even infantry of races like Greenskins and Beastmen who can physically overpower the smaller frames of Men in one-on-one melee combat.
Role[]
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Empire Halberdiers led by an Imperial general.
Throughout its long history, the Empire has faced many foes physically superior to even the strongest specimens Humanity has to offer. Even the strongest man may be out-muscled by an Orc on a one-to-one basis, while a Minotaur's axe may cleave a swordsman before he ever draws close enough to swing his return blow. Similarly, Mankind has oft been outnumbered by teeming swarms of foes; against these enemies, the Empire uses not only fortifications and choke-points, but weapons useful in such close spaces. Both of these problems have found a common solution in the Imperial Halberdier.[1a]
Equipped with the fearsome halberd, a long-shafted polearm with a heavy blade and spiked tip, this weapon is capable of smashing through heavy armour and the tough hides of savage Beastmen and Greenskins in equal measure. Halberdier regiments are amongst the most numerous Imperial infantry type due to the emperor's requirement that each Elector Count maintain a standing force of Halberdiers because of their strength and versatility on the battlefield.[1a]
Wearing only a chest-plate, these men go to war without a shield, but bravely engage their enemies in a tight formation, using the powerful swipes of their polearm's blade to compensate for their lack of armour with bone-crushing force. Such troops are suited for both defence and offence, capable of holding ground in a narrow passage against numerically or physically superior opponents, as well as being the spearhead of a massive Imperial assault. As such, these infantrymen are a very common sight on any Imperial battlefield.[1a]
Notable Regiments[]
- Scarlet Curs - The Scarlet Curs are the personal bodyguards of Vassily von Raukov of Ostland.
- Nordland Mariners - An elite regiment of Nordlander halberdiers.
- The Death's Heads - A legendary regiment of Imperial halberdiers from the town of Essen in Ostermark.
- Altdorf Company of Honour - The best equipped and trained regiment of halberdiers in the Empire comes from the Imperial capital, the city-state of Altdorf.
- Craterblades - The Craterblades are a unit of halberdiers who serve as the city-state of Talabheim's elite defenders. They possess a proud history of defending the city from Greenskins, Chaos Dwarfs, and Skaven.
- Golden Pinions - The Golden Pinions are a proud regiment of Marienburg halberdiers with a long history of particpation in border wars with the other states of the Empire.
- Grundel's Defenders - Grundel's Defenders is a regiment of halberdiers that was raised after Grom the Paunch sacked Nuln and was tasked with defending the artillery batteries of that Imperial city-state.
Miniatures[]
Trivia[]
The quote by the Bogenhafen halbedier Holger Kass used on this page describes the creation of the widely-beloved Tilean food called pizza.[3a]
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Armies: The Empire (8th Edition)
- 1a: pg. 38
- 2: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Up in Arms (RPG)
- 2a: pp. 15
- 3: Warhammer Siege: Rulebook (3rd Edition)
- 3a: pg. 37
Gallery[]
